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Thursday, January 31, 2008

First of all, thanks to the website, Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics at www.dcindexes.com. It was a valuable resource to narrow the search for Jerry Siegel's writing credits.

This week was a sad anniversary in Superman history. Monday, January 28 marked the 12th anniversary of Jerry Siegel's passing, in 1996, at his California home. He was 81. Joe Shuster had passed away four years earlier, on July 30, 1992, of heart failure.

Jerry Siegel's and Joe Shuster's earlier DC creations:

Henri Duval of France, Famed Soldier of Fortune and Doctor Occult, The Ghost Detective, both for New Fun Comics #6, October 1935. This was their first professional sale, to Maj. Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, publisher of National Allied Publishing, the first of the companies that eventuall merged to become DC Comics as we know it.

Federal Men, in New Comics #2, January 1936. This feature had a fan club, the "Junior Federal Men's Club", a precursor to the "Supermen of America Club" which was a product of the original 1940's Superman craze.

Slam Bradley, in Detective Comics #1, March 1937. He was a global adventurer.

Other Jerry Siegel superhero creations done with other artists, and the title and issue they first appeared:

Red, White and Blue, in All-American Comics #1, April 1939. The artist for this feature was William Smith. These three characters were not "long underwear types", as costumed super heroes were called by those who created them. They were members of different branches of the U. S. military. Each wore their corresponding military uniform.

The Spectre, drawn by Bernard Bailey, in More Fun Comics #52, February 1940. This character was revived in the Silver Age and is a part of DC Comics today.

The Star Spangled Kid, in Star Spangled Comics #1, October 1940. He was drawn by Al Sherman.

Robotman, drawn by Paul Cassidy, in Star Spangled Comics #7, April 1942. This Robotman was not the same Robotman from the Doom Patrol, but a different character using the same name.

The last character Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created together was Funnyman, for Magazine Enterprises, starting in January 1948. They published this character after being fired by DC Comics for the copyright lawsuit they filed against Superman's publisher. Funnyman was a prankster against criminals, but only lasted six issues. Siegel and Shuster never worked together again.

Jerry Siegel's post-Superman career:

From 1950-1953 he was the art director for Ziff Davis' comic book line. Back in 1928 they were pulp magazine publishers. In August of that year they published the first issue of Amazing Stories, a science fiction magazine that made SF fans of not only Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, but also future DC Comics editors Mort Weisinger and Julius Schwartz. In the early '50's they tried to publish a line of comic books, with no success.

In the 1960's Siegel wrote for a variety of comic book publishers. He worked for Charlton and Marvel, where he scripted Human Torch stories, as well as back-up stories with Angel of the X-Men. He also worked on Archie Comics brief revival of their super hero line. For Western Publishing he wrote Junior Woodchuck stories along with Carl Barks. Jerry Siegel also wrote for some international comic book publishers. He wrote The Spider for England's Lion comics magazine and Topolino for the Italian Disney licenscee Mondadori Editore.

Jerry Siegel retuned to DC Comics in 1959, with help from his wife Joanne. Until the settlement with DC Comics in the 1970's before the release of the Superman movie, the Siegels and Joe Shuster struggled financially. Joanne, citing the bad publicity of one of the Superman crators in poverty would bring to DC, convinced Jack Liebowitz to rehire her husband. Mort Weisinger began assigning Jerry stories.

Jerry Siegel also wrote stories for Strange Adventures and Mystery In Space, two science fiction titles for DC Comics edited by future Superman editor Julius Schwartz.

Jerry Siegel's last scripts for DC Comics:

The New Lives of Superman in Superman #182, January 1966, pencilled by Curt Swan and inked by George Klein. This was his last script for the Superman comic book.

Prince Rama's Super Stand-In in Superboy #130, drawn by George Papp, and The Villain Who Married Supergirl, in Action Comics #338, drawn by Jim Mooney, both cover dated June, 1966, were Jerry Siegel's last scripts for DC Comics.

Two things led to Jerry Siegel's leaving DC Comics for the second, and last, time. The first was working for Mort Weisinger. He abused the talent working for him, and it wore Jerry Siegel down. The other was that Jerry Siegel once again sued DC Comics over the copyright to Superman. Once he filed that lawsuit, that ended his involvement with his creation for the final time.

In the 1970's, due to the pressure of comic book professionals and the public, DC Comics agreed to pay Siegel and Shuster, and their heirs, a pension, with medical benefits. It was adjusted upward several times during their final years.

After Jerry died, his widow sued for half the copyright to Superman. She waited until his passing because he didn't want to upset his renewed relationship with DC, and he may have been tired of the years of legal struggles. Under a new management, DC did not begrudge her this , seeming to accept it as her legal right.

The heirs have also sued DC over the copyright to Superboy. In the early 1940's Seigel had written a script introducing the character. DC editors vetoed the script. Siegel had written him as a mischievous character, and the editors felt this contrasted too much with Superman's wholesome reputation. It would not be the only Siegel script the DC management voetoed.

Jerry Siegel had written a script about "K-metal" around 1940. It was the first version of krypotonite. A k-metal metor caused a mine shaft to collapse, trapping Clark and Lois underground. While it was not close enough to threaten Clark Kent/Superman, Lois would not survive unless Clark revealed his secret identity. In the script that is exactly what he does. After overcoming her shock, Lois is angry with Clark for not trusting her with his secret. She agrees to keep his secret, and work with him for the good of humanity. DC editors vetoed this idea. They were not comfortable with a weakness threatening Superman, and they felt the Clark-Lois-Superman triangle was an essential element of the plot of Superman stories.

The Superman radio show introduced the idea of kryptonite as a way of giving Superman's voice, Bud Collyer, a vacation, in 1943. Kryptonite would not appear in Superman comic books until 1949.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

After sharing my favorite Superman stories on the previous podcast, I thought I would use this next episode to share my thoughts on my favorite comic book artist period, Curt Swan, and what it is about his style I enjoy.On the list of books on my first podcast blog is a book that is one of my favorite titles about comic book history. That book is Curt Swan: A Life In Comics by Eddy Zeno, published by Vanguard Productions in 2002. Copies should still be available from any of the online bookstores. I bought that book in December of 2002, when my wife and I were doing Christmas shopping. I ordered a DVD for my son (I forget the title), and in order to qualify for free shipping, I decided to order this book which I had my eye on. When it arrived in the middle of December it was like giving myself a Christmas present like no other. No, I did not wait for Christmas day to read it. that wasn't going to happen. Eddy Zeno does an excellent job of giving an overview of his life and his career. He also talks to many people in the comic book industry, who either worked with Curt Swan or were influenced by his art. He also interviewed members of Curt Swan's immediate family. The forward was written by Mort Walker, the Beetle Bailey and Hi and Lois creator and co-creator, respectively. He is shown standing in front of a picture, given to him by Curt Swan. It contains pages of original Superman art, with a cutout of Superman, inked and colored by Curt Swan, in front. I thought, what I wouldn't give to have a copy of that picture.Curt Swan was the definitive Superman artist for three decades, from the 1960's, the '70's and 1980's, just as Wayne Boring was the definitive Superman artist of the late 1940's through the 1950's.Curt Swan was born of February 17, 1920 in Minnesota, and died in his sleep on June 16, 1996. He was a mostly self taught artist. He was drafted into the army during World War II, and eventually worked for the Stars & Stripes Army newspaper, in its London office. He illustrated stories, drew maps and even humorous cartoons on Army life.After the war he was hired by Detective Comics, Inc. in 1945. He drew stories for a variety of DC titles. Although a lot of these stories are not credited, one way to tell that Curt did them is to look at the hands. According to Zeno, Swan had a habit of drawing hands, when they were resting on a table, for instance, with the middle fingers together and the first and pinkie fingers apart. After reading this I tried holding my fingers the same way. It was harder to do than the Vulcan salute from Star Trek.Several Superman highlights include:"The Man Who Bossed Superman" from Superman #51, March-April 1948. This was Curt Swan's first Superman story."A Zoo For Sale" in Superboy #5, Nov.-Dec. 1949, was Curt Swan's first Superboy story."The Mightiest Team-Up in the World", Superman #76, May-June 1952, was the first team-up of Superman and Batman in a single story."Batman - Double for Superman", World's Finest #71, July 1954, was the first World's Finest team-up of Superman and Batman in a single story in that title.Curt Swan was one of the artists for the Three Dimension Adventures Superman 3-D comic book in 1953. His work on that title eventually led to his hiring by Mort Weisinger as one of the regular Superman artists. He was a prolific cover artist as well. He would draw most of these at the DC offices under Weisinger's supervision, who would then have another artist ink the cover.Curt Swan drew the last Superman story of almost fifty years of continuity, "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" fromSuperman #423 and Action Comics #583, Sept. 1986. It was written by Alan Moore. The Superman issue was inked by George Perez, and the Action issue by Kurt Schaffenberger, the one time Captain Marvel artist for Fawcett Comics, and the long-time penciller for Lois Lane.After John Byrne restarted Superman with the Man of Steel mini-series, curt Swan worked for a variety of publishers, but did not have steady work again, sadly.He did periodic work for DC, some issues of Superboy, not the regular DC title, but a licenced title from the 1990's syndicated TV show.When Action Comics Weekly ran from issues 601 to 642, Curt Swan drew the 2 page Superman story in the center spread of the comic book. It was done in the manner of the old fashioned newspaper comic strips, with three tiers of panels to tell the story each week.Among the last Superman pages Curt Swan drew were for Action Comics Annual #2, 1989. He was one of a number of artists who each took one storyline. The comic would alternate between scenes of each storyline. In the annual, which took place during the "Exile in Space" storyline, Superman, in a weakened state, is captured by the villain Mongul on his artificial planet Warworld and forced to participate in the gladiatorial games. In a memorable scene drawn by Swan, Superman is forced to remove his Superman costume and put on scanty gladiator garb, but wears his cape as a sash, before he goes into the ring for combat.Why Curt Swan?Being one of the earliest comic book artists whose work I looked at as a young boy, I guess it's only natural to be drawn to him for that reason. But more than that, Curt Swan had a realistic style, in the years before Neal Adams brought his almost photo-realistic style to comic books. . Swan drew people with normal proportions, portraying them in everyday life.One criticism of Swan's art is that it's too conservative, isn't as dynamic as other artists like Neal Adams or Jack Kirby, who drew figures that looked like they were about to jump off the page and knock you onto the floor if you didn't duck. to be fair to Curt Swan, DC in these years was a very conservative company, with a strong, some might say domineering editorial control. Over the years Swan's style did open up. He experimented with page layouts and drew more dynamic fight scenes.For me, his biggest strength was the ability to show the subtle expressions of human emotion. You don't have to read the word balloons to know what emotion that character is feeling.There are a few Superman stories that I can recall reading as a small boy, which I have been able to find again, and add them to my comic book collection:Superman #181, November 1965."The Super Scoop of Mona Vine", writer: Edmund H, penciller: Curt Swan, inker: George Klein."The Superman of 2965", writer: Leo Dorfman, penciller: Curt Swan, Inker: George Klein.World's Finest #155, February 1966."The 1,000th Exploit of Superman and Batman", writers: Edmund Hamilton and E. Nelson Bridwell, penciller: Curt Swan, inker: George Klein. This was the first comic book I have any memory of my Dad buying me. It was in a convenience store near the Ocala National Forest in Florida, near where we lived at the time.World's Finest #159, August, 1966."The Cape and Cowl Crooks", writer: Edmund Hamilton, penciller: Curt Swan, inker: George Klein.The backup story was one of the earliest Green Arrow stories I remember reading, "the Case of the Green Error Clown", possibly written by Ed Herron, and drawn by Lee Elias.Send your e-mail comments to supermanfanpodcast@gmail.com.to listen to this podcast episode, got to http://www.supermanfanpodcast.mypodcast.com/.

I called this first podcast "Episode #0" because I wanted to introduce myself and share how I became involved in comic books and a hobby, and how that led to podcasting.

Superman Fan Podcast is a family friendly, work friendly podcast that will feature one small aspect of Superman: specific stories or characters, one of the many writers, artists and editors who have added to Superman's legacy in comics, or one of the actors or directors who have expanded Superman into radio, animation, television or the movies. It will be published weekly, usually on Wednesdays.

During holidays or other special times of the year I will feature Superman stories or characters as they apply. For instance:Valentine's Day: Superman's girlfriendsPresident's Day: Superman meets various U. S. PresidentsApril Fool's Day: the silly or bad (by today's standards) Superman stories, and,yes, Superman had his share of those. Also featuring the "imaginary stories" among my favorite Superman stories.Memorial Day: "Death of Superman" stories. There were more than just the "Doomsday" story.July 4th: featuring World's Finest Comics. July 4, 1940 was declared "Superman Day"at the 1939-40 New York World's Fair, and the World's Finest Comics series had its beginnings there.Halloween: there are some scary Superman stories.Veteran's Day: Superman involved with the militaryChristmas: Superman stories involving the yuletide season.

The most important part of Superman Fan Podcast is listener participation.Below are some open questions that are welcome anytime from listeners:- Why is Superman your favorite comic book character?- Why is Superman not your favorite comic book character? There is no right or wrong answer, and this isn't a debate. This is an open forum where we respect each other's preferences and share what we like about super-hero comics.- What are your favorite Superman stories?- Have you been luck enough to have any issues of Superman autographed?- Have you met any Superman creators?- Who are your favorite Superman writers, artists or editors?- Have you ever bought or been given any original Superman art?-What books on comic book history in general, or Superman in particular, have you read?- Are there any other features you would like to see a part of Superman Fan Podcast?If you are interested in reading the Cleveland Plain Dealer article The Superman Challenge by Michael Sangiacomo, here is the link:www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2007/12/is_cleveland_ready_to_take_the.html

Comic Book PodcastsBelow are some of the comic book podcasts I have listened to, and where noted, the episodes that feature Superman:

The Golden Age of Comic BooksThis comic book podcast was the model I used to develop my own format for my own podcast.June 12, 2005December 19, 2005

Word Balloonsome episodes may not be work friendly because of language.Marty Pasko (Parts 1 & 2)Mark Waid

World's Finest Podcastthis podcast is not work friendly because of language.World's Finest Podcast reviews the episodes of all of the WB Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, et. al. DC animated shows, beginning with Batman: The Animated Series. They have not gotten to Superman: the Animated Series yet, but stay tuned.

Books on Comic Book HistoryThis is by no means a complete list, just the books I have been lucky enough to get my hands on, listed by title, author, publisher and date of publication:Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book by Greard Jones, Basic Books (2004)Curt Swan: A Life In Comics by Eddy Zeno, Vanguard Productions (2002)Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book by Jordan Raphael and Tom Spurgeon, Chicago Review Press (2003)Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and the American Comic Book Revolution by Ronin Ro, Bloomsbury (2004)The Comic Book Makers by Joe simon with Jim Simon, Vanguard Productions (2003)Will Eisner: A Spirited Life by Bob Andelman, M Press (2005)(I was lucky enough to be in the audience of Mr. Andelman's panel at Orlando, FL's Megacon 2006 when he spoke about the book and working with Will Eisner.)Man of Two Worlds: My Life in Science Fiction and Comics by Julius Schwartz with Brian M. Thomsen, with a forward by Harlan Ellison (2000).Superman: The Complete History by Les Daniels, Chronicle Books (1998)Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross, Chip Kidd and Geoff Spear, Pantheon Books (2005)The Great Comic Book Heroes by Jules Feiffer, Bonanza, 1965 (Fantagraphics came out with an edition in 2003, but according to Chris of the Collected Comics Library podcast, this new edition does not contain the comic book story reprints of the original. While Feiffer's writing is interesting, I agree with Chris that the reprints add a bonus to the book. Search for the original. If you can't find it, go ahead and get the new edition. Feiffer was one of the first to begin piecing together the history of comic books.)The Wizard Alex Ross Special, Wizard Entertainment (2003)Superman At Fifty! the Persistence of A Legend, eidted by Gary D. Engle and Dennis Dooley, Octavia Press ( 1987)It's Superman! (a novel), Tom DeHaven, Chronicle Books (2005)

Superman Trade PaperbacksThis is by no means a complete list of all of Superman's collected editions. These are only the ones I'm lucky enough to have. For a complete list go to dccomics.com or to collectedcomicslibrary.com.

DVD'sThese are only the Superman DVD's in my collection, and are not a complete list of those available.Superman I & IISuperman II: The Richard Donner CutSuperman ReturnsThe Complete Superman Collection: the Paramount Cartoon Classics of Max & Dave FleischerThe Adventures of Superman (all six seasons of the 1950's TV show)Look! Up In the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman (narrated by Kevin Spacey)Superman DoomsdayHollywoodland (the movie starring Ben Affleck about the death of '50's Superman actor George Reeves)Justice League Unlimited: Joining ForcesSuperman: the Animated Series (I don't have any of the three seasons of this series, but I would recommend it to any Superman fan. I only have two seasons of Batman: The Animated Series.)The Tick Vs. (Seasons I & II) and The Incredibles (These three DVD's don't have anything to do with Superman, but if you enjoy super-heroes, you should enjoy these DVD's)

Thank you for being a part of Superman Fan Podcast. Thanks most importantly go to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster who, like most trailblazers in life, did not get to enjoy the fruits of their creation, but have given us a legacy we have enjoyed for decades.